Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 25, 2025 8:10 am
Shaquille O'Neal on Rudy Gobert: 'He is making 250 million and he doesn't deserve it'
Jul. 25, 2025, 5:17 AM CDT
But Shaq made it clear once again on The Big Podcast that he doesn’t rock with the Minnesota Timberwolves center. "I fu*king hate Rudy Gobert," Shaq stated on his podcast. "He is making 250M and he doesn't deserve it. As the President of the Big Man Alliance, you making big money, play like a big man. That's it," he continued. "Throw some bows. Knock some people out. Don't be little white dudes from Denver dunk on you and talk to you. Then you got to grab them by the neck at the last second. If you going to get paid big money, play big," O'Neal added.
Is Shaq still salty that Rudy went for 25 and 20 on his Lakers in the playoffs!
Shaq does have a little point, not about the money, Rudy doesn't bring it consistently enough. I do think his back flares up and he's hindered by it. He just sometimes looks old and hobbled out there.
Shaq can say whatever he wants but Rudy is one of the best defensive centers (if not the best) in the league and keeps himself in excellent shape so he earns plenty of his salalry every year. I think you make a good point his back may give him some trouble from time to time but largely he plays most games especially for a big center those guys tend to miss a few games. If Shaq had kept himself in the shape Rudy does he would have had an even better career. It's weird how people take these shots at Gobert.
The reality is that Gobert has massively overachieved on his way to a HOF career. It's weird he isn't celebrated more than he is. Why doesn't Shaq spend his time ripping Ayton for obviously underachieving in his career? He has like twice the natural talent of Rudy and is at this point maybe half the player he is.
Shaq just being Shaq. Someone could point out that there was a point in Shaq’s career when he was more interested in rapping than playing basketball. He was overweight and out of shape. I’d say he was grossly overpaid during that period. I get Shaq’s underlying point that Rudy isn’t tough and doesn’t play with toughness. That’s true and can be frustrating. But Rudy is one of the best defensive bigs to ever play in the NBA. Moreover, he keeps his body in shape and takes the game seriously - two things I can’t say about Shaq.
